I am looking for some meatless meal ideas, recipes, cookbooks etc. that are dairy, soy, egg, peanut, and tree nut free. We do eat meat, but I would like to reduce the amount of meat we eat. We tend to eat whole foods so we wouldn't want pre-made meat substitutes (most are soy anyway). My daughters are picky and prefer beans to be mashed or pureed (they like refried beans and hummus). They will eat beans and rice if the beans are very soft.

Also, how do I make sure they get enough protein? I'm not worried about Emma as she can have dairy, but we are always trying to get Aubrey to eat more protein and calories.

Kim --breastfeeding avoiding PN/TN, fish, SF, dairy, soy, egg.

Mom to
Aubrey (5/05) - allergic to to dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts
Emma (6/08) no allergies
Isabel (10/10) I'm avoiding 7 of the top 8 allergens while breastfeeding her

One thing that we eat a lot that you might try is white beans with salt, garlic, lemon juice and sage served over polenta. My daughter also loves black beans and sweet potatoes served with corn tortillas and a little bit of Daiya cheese (which is dairy, gluten, nut and soy free). I puree a can of white beans into my cream of (insert veggie here) soup. I use essentially this recipe: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/sneak-it-to-em-broccoli-soup-678382/ adding the beans, some nutritional yeast, and subbing veggie stock and non-dairy milk. I usually use soymilk, but rice milk works too.

If your family prefers softer beans - I'd try to find a variety of lentil dishes that they like. They usually go over well being mildly flavored and mix into foods easily (as patties, salads, mixed with pastas, or pureed for a dip or sandwich spread). You can also use other split peas (red & yellow my favories) or dahls.

Other than that, I find chickpeas to be the most versatile and well-liked of all the beans.

As for getting enough protein - I think it's good to remember that pretty much all foods do have protein. Finding fruits and veggies that are higher and making sure you have them more often might help reassure you (here's a protein chart). Off hand, I think things like sweet potato, okra, broccoli & cauliflower significantly higher in protein than other vegetables. So when you can have those and get 4g of protein as opposed to just 1g from other x veggie, make that your choice. (There are some fruits too, but I don't remember those as well nor do I see them on this list - but that would be worth looking into with having a lot of other restrictions in your diet).